The Future Of Teamwork with Dane Groeneveld

On today's episode of The Future of Teamwork, Nick Smoot sits down with host and HUDDL3 CEO Dane Groeneveld to talk about the importance of personal narrative in helping you understand and pursue meaningful work. Nick is the Founder and CEO of Aesop Industries, a venture partner, and someone with a deep passion for developing communities. During their conversation, the two discuss Nick's venture projects, progressive policies and technologies, the inherent drive in humans to create, as well as the impact of getting involved in mission-based work.Episode Highlights:[00:11 - 00:47] Introduction to Nick Smoot[00:49 - 02:20] Nick talks about the beginnings of his story with creating Aesop Industries and doing community work[02:22 - 03:49] Finding success in youth community coaching programs and opportunities to grow an EdTech company[03:50 - 08:35] Partnerships and venture innovations[09:07 - 11:57] A way to reorient a merit-based innovation approach[12:03 - 14:28] An identity story, and our birthright as creators to solve our own problems[14:30 - 17:48] Building a constant percolation of the culture you want[17:49 - 19:59] Sentiment mapping and understanding how communities feel[20:00 - 21:25] Coffee and Concepts in Victoria, TX[21:26 - 24:30] Growing a culture change engine that spreads[25:00 - 27:50] Creative or creator vs. entrepreneur or maker, a philosophy[27:51 - 28:30] Killing the word "entrepreneur" and building Build [28:35 - 32:34] Bifurcating your identity and spreading a mission-based goal[32:36 - 35:22] Identifying a shared problem teams face and forming a coalition[35:24 - 38:41] Where do we leave room for belonging, gathering, and transaction to happen in authentic, co-creative ways[38:45 - 39:35] Spin and watch how you spend your time, and understanding our journeys[39:40 - 41:10] Dane and Nick on the Berkshire Hathaway shareholder event and building wealth[41:12 - 42:12] Aligning yourself with the shared interest of your consumer, the idea of a "soul and goal line"[42:21 - 44:38] Magic exists in our own town, and taking the risk away from community events by making them more accessible[44:42 - 46:48] Community-based approaches and Nick's free ebook Better[46:53 - 48:26] How to reach Nick

In today's episode of The Future of Teamwork, host and HUDDL3 CEO Dane Groeneveld speaks with Lisa Blair Fratzke about her passion for helping brands explore and find their "why." An organization's "why" is its purpose, which Lisa knows a lot about after realizing the power of storytelling as a screenwriter, Disney employee, and founder of Fratzke Consulting. Among other things, this conversation covers video's role in storytelling, intentionality and culture-building as critical to supporting their purpose, and her strategies for helping brands develop compelling value propositions.Episode highlights:[00:12 - 04:50] Lisa's background in screenwriting and at Disney[04:55 - 07:18] The power of connections, purpose, and Lisa's goal to help companies find their "why"[07:19 - 09:21] Helping brands develop effective value propositions[09:23 - 11:49] Helping companies and their teammates find their purpose and why[11:55 - 13:18] Safety as a value proposition[13:20 - 14:26] Lisa's strategy for developing value propositions and bringing out the best[14:32 - 15:28] The importance of buy-in[15:30 - 18:51] The impact of storytelling on a Disney Cast member reference guide[18:51 - 21:54] Humanizing resources and different messages[21:55 - 24:23] Acquisitions and layers of a human-centered approach[24:27 - 26:25] Culture building informs everything[26:27 - 30:42] The importance of intentionality in gathering physically and virtually[30:46 - 34:04] Thoughts on the role of video in business updates and training[34:08 - 37:24] Video should be part of a holistic strategy to bring a message to life[37:34 - 40:14] Safeguarding brand reputation and enabling employee storytelling, videos[40:16 - 46:20] What does the future of driving belonging and impact look like for Lisa?

On this episode of The Future of Teamwork, host Dane Groeneveld, CEO of HUDDL3, speaks with John McGlothlin, a former paratrooper, and author, about how the lessons he learned from the military can help individuals become better teammates. McGlothlin shares how his military experience prepared him to work effectively with people he didn't hire and deal with unexpected challenges as a team. During their conversation, McGlothlin shares how he distilled the military culture into five "inner traits" crucial for facing any challenge. Tune in to discover how applying these principles can prepare you to work with your teams.Key Takeaways:[00:11 - 02:56] How John's background in the military informs his life as a writer[02:58 - 06:15] Non-combat aspects of the military and the wealth of organizational and training knowledge[03:55 - 06:15] Basic training and experiencing bootcamp[06:41 - 10:32] Dealing with unexpected challenges together, and investing/developing your team[10:35 - 13:25] Navigating that you can't choose your coworkers or hires in the military[13:27 - 15:02] Paratrooper training and what helps people deal with nearly anything[15:02 - 16:21] The importance of self-awareness[16:22 - 17:25] Using research, and recognizing the phenomenon of "pro-social lying"[17:27 - 18:40] A unique aspect of the military is that everyone is trained for everything[18:41 - 20:15] The idea of dual-training admin personnel for combat[20:20 - 22:49] Exposure to common core trainings[22:53 - 25:39] The reward for showing initiative[25:45 - 28:08] Efficiency and focusing on the next game[28:14 - 30:50] Efficiency, the idea of a skeleton crew, and focusing on your own role[30:51 - 31:47] Not getting caught in the noise[31:50 - 35:22] Adaptability and being part of the process[35:23 - 38:25] Putting time and energy into training, re-skilling, and growth in the modern age[38:29 - 39:54] Insistence and the ability to coexist[39:54 - 41:15] Reaching the standard for yourself[41:16 - 42:54] Why standards are important[42:57 - 45:06] Holding people accountable and communicating appropriately[45:07 - 47:46] The importance of documentation in training[47:47 - 50:48] How people can own their careers with John's framework

In today's conversation, host of The Future of Teamwork and HUDDL3 CEO Dane Groeneveld talks to Marcia Daszko about the power of listening to your customers and pivoting businesses toward their greater potential. Marcia has worked with companies of all sizes to encourage cultures to adopt growth mindsets and self-organizing operation models. She and Dane touch on several aspects of good leadership, how she organizes workshops to benefit participants, and throughout the conversation highlight the importance of continual learning and engagement.Episode Highlights:[00:12 - 03:14] Introduction, meet Marcia Daszko[03:15 - 04:49] A commitment to learning and courage[04:53 - 05:33] If you don't unlock the potential of teams businesses die[05:40 - 08:06] Leadership is learning, listening, and engaging[08:06 - 10:59] The courage to observe, connect, and improve[11:03 - 15:27] The value of your teams for the organization[15:27 - 19:27] Growth mindsets and a leader's role to develop their people[19:27 - 22:37] Connections and relationships are what is important[22:40 - 24:37] Leaders creating an environment for self-organizing[24:39 - 27:59] How Marcia's workshops are structured and examples of the ways she revamps customer organizations[28:02 - 32:17] Continual improvement, remaining curious about new ideas[32:19 - 33:21] How Dane's kid's shut down their own ideas, and how it translates to work[33:25 - 36:55] Focusing on learning and engaging[37:35 - 42:17] Simplicity and basic questions that can guide an organization's development[42:21 - 44:28] Show recap

From human resources to people engineers, HR has gone through a lot of rebrands. Throughout those shifts, what remains consistent is the necessity for leaders to organize and efficiently run teams. Kurt Landon stops by The Future of Teamwork to discuss approximately 30 years of consulting, team building, and partnering with HR teams to help businesses work more effectively together. With HUDDL3 CEO and show host, Dane Groeneveld, Kurt touches on outside leadership entering an environment, the strategic importance of customer advisory boards, DEI efforts, and more.Episode Highlights:[00:12 - 05:25] Kurt Landon's background and path to Enspira[05:32 - 11:52] The breadth of exposure to different industries and aspects of business during Kurt's career[12:12 - 17:04] Differentiating between human capital and human resources[17:06 - 22:14] What enabled success when transitioning to an LLC and starting to do consulting[22:39 - 26:01] Making outside and in-house partnerships see each other as teammates[26:03 - 32:06] Navigating and addressing poor leadership, identifying talent within a company's ranks[32:12 - 38:05] What Kurt and Enspira started helping customers within the early days: business, culture, focus[38:30 - 39:32] Customer-led journey advisory board[39:36 - 43:11] People science and the art of engaging with employees, customer advisory boards[43:15 - 50:39] Practices to change team dynamics toward DEI efforts

In this episode of The Future of Teamwork, Kurt Schmidt challenges the negative connotations associated with networking, which is often viewed as a burdensome task. Host Dane Groeneveld, CEO of HUDDL3, engages in a conversation with Kurt, who spearheads the digital transformation of businesses at Foundry. Kurt shares his unique perspective on networking, highlighting the importance of enjoyable and mutually beneficial interactions. He also emphasizes the value of hiring individuals with intriguing hobbies, colleagues who support career growth, and taking decisive action. Kurt also outlines his personal networking tracking system in the discussion.Episode Highlights:[00:11 - 02:37] Kurt's journey from BMX rider to designer to founder[02:37 - 06:02] Team incentives that unknowingly cause conflict when everyone is trying to have an impact[06:07 - 08:24] Side gigs and people with interesting hobbies[08:28 - 10:30] Lifting all boats, people who help others in their careers[10:34 - 13:39] Creating validation in our roles and creating value[13:42 - 16:08] Taking initiative and making goals relevant to the vision[16:13 - 17:29] Bias for action, emotional labor of working with people uninvested in vision[17:36 - 19:18] Networking and success in a career versus a job[19:18 - 20:22] Networking can be fun when you have a system and think of it as a lifestyle as opposed to a task[20:23 - 21:11] The purpose of Kurt's book on networking[21:15 - 25:37] Kurt's system for networking, categorizing a spreadsheet[25:41 - 27:51] "People understand you are a connector"[27:53 - 28:49] Active listening in life and business[28:52 - 33:45] You're offering someone access to your network[33:46 - 34:53] People want to help but don't always know what helps[34:53 - 36:09] Build your own user guide[36:11 - 37:36] A team vision statement[37:40 - 40:27] You are in control of your career[40:29 - 41:59] Psychological safety starts with you[42:12 - 45:27] Web3

Today on The Future of Teamwork, Tonille Miller stops by to talk to host Dane Groeneveld about how she transforms business cultures with her organization EXT - Experience and Transformation, so that teams operate sustainably in the long term. In their conversation, the two talk about all things burnout, ownership mindsets, career progression, and how constraints inspire creative solutions.Key Takeaways:[00:11 - 01:29] Meet Tonille Miller, Founder of EXT - Experience and Transformation[01:31 - 04:05] Transformation in your business means growing together[04:07 - 05:03] Thoughts on team interdependence[05:05 - 07:00] Doing more with less, getting teams to play well together[07:02 - 09:38] Where does an ownership mindset land in this environment?[09:39 - 11:39] Organizations Tonille has worked with to improve team conditions[11:41 - 12:42] Rules of thumb for setting parameters[12:43 - 14:43] Constraint inspires creativity[14:51 - 16:34] Psychological safety and creating an environment with zero tolerance for toxicity[16:34 - 21:11] Inclusivity, innovation, and reverse mentoring[21:16 - 23:42] "It is human to create"[23:44 - 25:12] Mattering and appreciation[25:16 - 26:44] Tonille's book explores imposter syndrome, organizational advice, and useful tidbits [26:44 - 30:07] Future pathways, growth, and progression in careers[30:07 - 32:22] Job crafting, changing what you're working on[32:23 - 33:53] Cross-training a younger generation, the potential for innovation[33:52 - 38:06] "Don't let burnout happen to you"[38:13 - 41:04] Finding purpose and setting boundaries[41:04 - 43:10] Trade-offs in balance, finding value, downtime, and pursuing goals[43:11 - 46:14] Designing a new culture is strategic

Are you interested in learning strategies for maintaining a strong organizational culture? It's a tough challenge, but the payoff is worth it in terms of productivity and longevity. Today on The Future of Teamwork, host Dane Groeneveld speaks about organizational network analysis and culture initiatives with Kevin Oakes, the CEO of the Institute for Corporate Productivity. During their conversation, the two touch on healthy vs. toxic cultures, Kevin's book Culture Renovation, and the opportunity-rich landscape enabled by technology.Episode Highlights[00:11 - 00:25] Introduction[00:32 - 03:16] Kevin Oakes and i4cp, The Institute for Corporate Productivity[03:20 - 04:01] Culture Fitness —Studying the elements of a healthy culture vs a toxic culture[04:08 - 06:50] Approaching culture from the top down in the current labor market and shortage[06:54 - 11:18] The blueprint of Kevin's book, Culture Renovation: tools for change[11:21 - 12:42] Organizational network analysis[12:44 - 15:03] Digitizing influencers at work into bots, and automating work[14:00 - 15:50] Easier to automate mundane work, shifting time to influencers for culture[15:57 - 19:20] Measuring culture initiatives progress and work streams[19:21 - 22:17] Business metrics and the idea of revenue per employee[22:17 - 23:23] The current economic impact on tech businesses, layoffs, and ranking[23:27 - 27:18] How companies living in an opportunity-rich moment for culture learning, mobility, and succession planning are implementing change and programs[27:19 - 29:45] Measuring friction in organizations[29:50 - 31:23] A vendor-free community[31:27 - 32:37] Team building and the weight on culture ambassadors' shoulders[32:39 - 33:23] Storytelling from a leader[33:23 - 35:14] Micro culture should have slight variations on overall culture, but not completely deviate[35:15 - 36:20] Gary Ridge, former CEO of WD-40 on high-performing teams[36:26 - 39:22] Mobility and seeing supply chains boomerang back talent[39:24 - 40:20] Referral hires, checking in with past employees[40:26 - 42:47] Data will help you see, thoughts on productivity and flexibility

On the latest episode of The Future of Teamwork podcast, host Dane Groeneveld and guest Leo Bottary explore various tactics, principles, and real-life stories demonstrating collaborative efforts' effectiveness in teams. Leo created a collection of values known as "The Five Factors," which assist teams in establishing a framework for improved collaboration. Besides being an author, Leo founded Peernovation. Peernovation strives to leverage group dynamics and strategic communication to 1) assist companies with building higher-performing teams and 2) help CEOs and business leaders maximize their peer group experience.Episode Highlights[00:45 - 05:20] Leo's background as a founder and an author[05:21 - 09:13] Creating frameworks and learning models[09:13 - 12:21] What makes a high-performing peer group effective?[12:24 - 14:44] Intentional in collateral learning[14:47 - 17:13] Issue processing in a peer group, finding clarity and communication[17:17 - 20:30] Finding out what is at the heart of decisions[20:35 - 26:04] The Five Factors — Right People, Psychological Safety, Productivity, Accountability, and Leadership[26:07 - 27:34] The most effective leader saw themselves as a part of the group[27:32 - 29:21] Member-to-member accountability and a leader's role in inspiring the other four values[29:25 - 31:16] We've all made hiring mistakes[31:17 - 34:15] Becoming psychologically ready to best participate in being accountable to a group[34:21 - 35:53] In a high-performing team[35:55 - 38:15] High-performing teams and factors that influence the numbers[38:25 - 40:37] Groups working alongside teams[40:45 - 42:31] Something as simple as people getting to know what each other does

Taking risks, being vulnerable, and seeking help are often the initial actions required to pursue your aspirations. In this episode of The Future of Teamwork, Dane Groeneveld, the host, discusses taking charge of your career with Jenny Wood, the founder of Google's Own Your Career initiative. The duo explores the idea that working in teams provides a fresh opportunity to transform oneself, establishing psychological safety in collaborative settings, and acknowledging that development and advancement can stem from sources other than the upper echelons of an organization.Episode Highlights:[00:10 - 03:51] Jenny Wood and the Own Your Career program she founded at Google[03:53 - 06:24] Going after what you want, and psychological safety[06:27 - 09:11] How Jenny's Own Your Career program creates frameworks for safety and team building[09:23 - 12:14] Open dialogue and the power of addressing awkward conversations early[12:18 - 17:16] How growth opportunities flow at Google from Jenny's Own Your Career program[17:17 - 19:25] Working in teams is a chance to reinvent yourself each time[19:27 - 22:04] The opportunity to own your past and reinvention[23:01 - 27:43] Setting agendas with leadership and your manager's manager[27:43 - 30:47] Leaders who invite conversations, availability, and collaboration[30:47 - 34:38] Progress and leadership beyond the organizational chart[34:40 - 37:13] Learning to ask for help is vital to building relationships[37:22 - 40:58] Where technology plays a part of the team and helps people elevate their careers